“It is the sauce that distinguishes a good chef. The Saucier is a soloist in the orchestra of a great kitchen.” – Fernand Point
So true! You can saute a chicken breast to perfection and make a great meal, but if you know how to make simple pan sauces, you can prepare a hundred different meals. Furthermore, you are going to find every cuisine has it’s own style of sauces, some similar, some completely different.
For example, Italian sauces for pasta like a Genovese sauce are much different from classic French sauces like a demi glace sauce. A simple soy ginger sauce for Chinese dumplings looks and tastes different from an Indian curry sauce. Even barbecue sauces can be different depending on where you live.
So here are some of my favorite sauces from various cuisines that you can enjoy with your favorite meals.
More Ingredients for Great Sauces at Home Part 1 of The Secret to Successful Sauces – Ingredients Cooking with Flavor Enhancers One of the differences between restaurant chefs and home cooks is that chefs are familiar with a wide variety of specialty ingredients that can subtly or not-so-subtly enhance a sauce. They understand the diner’s palate, […]
Ingredients Chefs Use to Make Restaurant Quality Sauces It’s one thing to offer a book full of sauce recipes. It is quite another to open the swinging door to the restaurant kitchen and reveal chefs’ secrets for sauce making. What follows is an explanation of the tricks of the trade – the ingredients, techniques and […]
A Glossary of Terms for Preparing Sauces Most cookbooks have a glossary at the end to help you with key terms associated with the theme of the book. I think it is more helpful if we look at these important terms BEFORE we get started so you have a better idea of what I’m talking […]
What Restaurant Quality Sauces Is All About How often have you gone to a restaurant and wondered how they make the amazing sauces, dressings and gravies that accompany a great meal? At mid-level chain restaurants, many sauces are shipped in, ready made. But at small, stand-alone restaurants as well as stand-alone fine dining restaurants, those […]
How to Make Restaurant Quality Burgundy Sauce This sauce comes from Burgundy, France famous for their incredible red wines made from pinot noir grapes, and white wine from chardonnay. Many Burgundian wines can be exorbitantly priced. If you’d like to remain traditional without breaking the bank, look for Burgundy simply labeled “Bourgogne.” This is the […]
What I Learned Today About Gorgonzola Cream Sauce This weekend I was browsing the New York Daily News and came across this interesting article about Gorgonzola. I don’t think I knew that Gorgonzola is a town in Northern Italy where this blue veined cheese originated. What I really didn’t know but learned from this article […]
How to Prepare a Simple Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette for Fish A while back we enjoyed a meal by Chef Scott Campbell that included Atlantic salmon over Israeli couscous with sauteed spinach on the side. The salmon had a drizzle of sauce that I wanted to know how it was made. Chef Scott was kind enough […]
How I Made My Favorite Bolognese Sauce In An Instant Pot Bolognese is one of my all-time favorite Italian sauces for pasta. I think of it as comfort food, a meal that makes me feel good. I like it so much, I have a few versions of it on my website including Bolognese Sauce Recipe, […]
How to Make Restaurant Quality Blue Cheese Sauce for Steak There are countless number of notable blue cheese sauces available but this one is an exception and one I would consider restaurant quality because it uses an ingredient essential to classic sauces. That ingredient would be demi glace, an extremely rich brown reduction sauce used […]
How to Make a Tarragon Cream Sauce with Tomatoes The other day we found pick up some lobster ravioli at Di Bruno Brothers Italian Market in our local Farmer’s Market. We’ve had them before and they are amazing. Pricey but tasty. We needed a sauce to go with them so my wife did a little […]
I'm a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me... Read More
How to Make the Best Beef Wellington This Beef Wellington recipe has become a tradition in our house. We prepare it every couple of years for Christmas and made it again this year. If I’m lucky, we will have it next year and the year after that. My wife originally found a recipe in Fine […]
Christmas Standing Rib Roast Thanksgiving is a holiday in which turkey really shines. Many of you would rather not deal with another turkey just four weeks after Thanksgiving. Some of you might still have some frozen leftovers. The Christmas meal is a celebratory meal, and as such, celebration food is a natural at the Christmas […]
How to Bake A Ham For Christmas
Baked Christmas Ham Recipe Would you like to serve a wonderfully flavorful and juicy ham for the holidays? Here’s a can’t-go-wrong recipe that will have your guests asking for seconds, and for a plate of leftovers, as well. Be sure to read about the history of serving ham on Christmas and the various types of […]
